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Berlin Workshop Sets New Record

The ICEF Berlin Workshop set an attendance record again in 2007, confirming Berlin's place as the largest and by far the most international agent workshop in the world.

The 2007 Workshop was held at the Berlin Intercontinental from November 4-6. 1,566 delegates from 1,061 organisations and 88 countries attended—representing an increase of 9% over the 2006 attendance and a remarkable 36% increase since 2005.

Other key statistics from this year's workshop:

• The participants arranged 20,293 pre-scheduled meetings using the latest version of the eSchedule PRO booking system. This represents a 12% increase in the number of pre-booked one-to-one appointments compared to 2006.
• 18% of all participants were attending their first workshop in Berlin. Among participating agents, 22% were attending their first ICEF Workshop. These "newcomer agencies" are well established in their respective markets and represented promising new business contacts for participating educators.
• 438 educational institutions were represented in Berlin by 646 delegates. These educators came from 37 countries and six continents. The top five countries of origin for education providers were the United Kingdom (30%), Canada (11%), the United States (10%), Spain (7%), and France (4%).
• 832 representatives from 564 agencies in 80 countries came to Berlin this year. The top five countries of origin for agents were Spain (12%), Germany (10%), Italy (8%), Russia (5%), and Turkey (5%).

"This is now my 11th year at the Berlin Workshop and it just keeps getting better and better, " said Nadine Zerbel of International Language Schools of Canada. "The appointments were promising and efficient, agents came well-prepared and new contacts were of high quality. The whole organization was smooth and professional. Thank you so much and see you next year!"

As has become the norm for the Berlin Workshop, there were a number of new features and services this year. "Our commitment in Berlin, and for all of our services for that matter, is to continue to innovate and improve with every year," said ICEF CEO Markus Badde. "For example, the Internet lounge and wi-fi services that we added last year have been very popular. The workshop participants are very good about telling us what works and generating new ideas."

Notable changes for this year's Berlin Workshop included:

• An expanded series of market intelligence seminars and industry presentations. This year's schedule encompassed a full day of seminars and presentations on the Sunday before the workshop for a total of 44 sessions offered in eight parallel tracks. Major topics covered during the conference programme included: eMarketing, buying and selling a language school, and findings from a new worldwide agent survey
• The conference programme included the first courses offered in the new ICEF Training series: intensive half-day sessions that covered online marketing, best practices for education fairs, developing a marketing plan, and effective strategies for market research. Further ICEF Training programmes are planned for 2008 in conjunction with ICEF workshops around the world.
• All one-to-one appointments were scheduled in 25-minute blocks instead of the 20-minute booking slots that had been used in previous years. The actual appointments were still held to 20 minutes but the new booking scheme allowed agents extra time to move between appointments and made it easier for everyone to stay on schedule.
• Exhibitors were for the first time able to use the eSchedule PRO system to book appointments with agents and educators, resulting in more than 1,000 such meetings during the workshop.
• Also for the first time this year, education providers were able to use the eSchedule PRO system to book appointments with each other to discuss joint ventures, exchanges, or other cooperative initiatives. This resulted in more than 100 such appointments.
• Designated meeting points were set up within the conference facilities to allow participants without an exhibition stand or meeting table to connect more easily.
• A new agent lounge was designated as a dedicated work, meeting, and break space for agent participants.

Another important development in recent years has been the increasing number of organisations that send multiple delegates to the workshop. "[Sending multiple representatives] allows participants to schedule additional appointments to take maximum advantage of the large numbers of leading agents and educators gathered in Berlin," said ICEF's General Manager Rudiger Laub. "We notice more people are doing so in recent years, and that very often this means that senior staff have the flexibility to schedule additional appointments or to take time during the day for informal networking with key contacts."

The 2008 ICEF Berlin Workshop will take place from November 2 to 4, immediately after the ICEF Work & Travel Forum (October 31 to November 1).

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